god?.......or God

The need to believe in a God has become more important than the meaning of one: and so the christian image of god has become so vast and embellished, that in its new found enormity it has become a separate entity in its own right- unrecognisable from, and even to, God. This dogma (for those who are fortunate in their un-education- a dogma, can best be described in one word- religion, although being uneducated, religion would seem a foolish notion- a revelation shared only by the wisest, and the true God himself) has caused the christian mind to become so obstinate that the truth- if spoken out loud in opposition to their beliefs, even from the mouth of God- would be taken as false.

You're Footprints in the desert sand - by Rushin Jansen

Not good enough, not strong enough
not made of Gold or Steel.
I'd blow away in the whingeing wind
if not kept down by your weight,
and fade away in the light if not hidden in your shadow.

You've left a path too far to walk
and much different from my own
Yet i find myself (bound) to follow
Your monolithic trail in the desert sand,
And for miles and miles
i see your footprints always in the distance...
mine insignificant when compared to thee
and yours belittling my existence...

To them im just a cheap-copy of you,
a footnote to shrink the gap you left behind.
Yet i cannot fill the endless void,
and the pieces just wont fit.
You always were the favouite son:
the one made of Gold and Steel,
the one who left his mark 'er he went,
the one with no Achilles Heel.

I always came up last out of 2
nor was i even noticed,
and even now you hold me down with shackles made of lead.
You're still the favourite, you still come first; even though you're
Dead!

''Insaisable Mist'' by Rushin Jansen

Upon drops of ocean adrift,
On astranged piece of bark
Old World remnants, brown as Autumn
Floats the dark mist, offending,
Gleaming with triumph and greed
Fueled by war of violent desires
And Blown by need to diminish globe.
And in the distance, it stumbles upon,
A mamoth of land, virgin at heart-
a Green Beast:
Untouched.
And the mist descends, Riding Horsemen of four,
and with the kiss of death,
consumes,
In passion of fire and ash,
Oh ill fated pheonix, starless-
The Green Beast falling, one with the mist,
beast and Mist, Mist and beast
As rust to leaf, and perish-
Both conquest of the dark,
The Beast, defiled dust to match mist,
Reaped,
And the mist moving on,
To find, and consume...

Bitter Victory

After drinking of sweet nectar
All else savours bitter of pale comparison.
And in the anti-climax a longing for virginity.
For an apex is only such from lower standing.
And 'tis in the chase we find true ambrosia...

"The Not So Great Gatsby"

''The Great Gatsby''. He is a driven man who is relentless in his pursuit of Daisy and for acceptance by the established rich. He displays a burning aspiration to achieve his goals at any cost, even crime. He is unscrupulous in his journey with a pure goal in mind- the ends do not justify the means. Jay Gatsby is not great.

Fires that blow in the wrong direction often burn the hands which ignite them. Gatsby's fiery desire to recapture Daisy and achieve his dream, although admirable, is ultimately the reason for his defeat. This twenty-twenty vision during his quest for his proverbial Holy Grail blinds him to the passing of time; Daisy's loyalty to her husband, Tom; and the wayward nature of his journey.

Gatsby has always possessed the potential and desire to achieve more than his parents had, this is evident in him leaving home at a young age to pursue his monolithic dreams. Although it cannot be contested that Gatsby's commitment to realising his dream, deep-rooted in the American Dream, is nothing short of unremitting; shown by his meticulously planned study regiment, him leaving the Lutheran College of St Olafs' to chase after greater horizons and the effort he puts into his opulent parties aimed at attracting Daisy, Gatsby's wealth is obtained through nefarious means, highlighted by his close relationship with Wolfshiem- a known felon.
Throughout the novel, Gatsby desperately attempts to escape the shackles of his disadvantaged background by changing his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby and lying about the origin of his family and wealth- in doing so, he forsakes his heritage. He is also a man with many secrets and facades and this is a contributing factor to his untimely demise.
Naive and foolish, Gatsby believes Daisy will leave Tom and the past will thus be erased. He chases after a dream that cannot be achieved, as the established rich will never accept him- the manner in which Tom and the Sloanes treat him is indicative of this. The symbolism which lies in the colour of Gatsby's car, yellow, also serves to show this as it is a pale reflection of, but can never become gold.

Tattered by naivety and the unwillingness to acknowledge the incontrovertible passing of time, noted by the paradigm shifts with regard to time and the many connotations with the passing of it, coupled with his haunted past which he attempts to bury ,with facades, into obscurity- Gatsby's dream becomes unattainable, incessantly receding before his ever trailing feet. Although persistent and dedicated to achievement, his drive is misconstrued and misdirected toward an ineffectual dream, and his obsession in realising his dream clouds his moral compass and,therefore, his journey.

His unrelenting in his pursuit of his dream blinds him to reality and in allowing it to do so, he becomes the architect of his own downfall.
The inability to achieve his pre-shattered dream, unscrupulous means aside, and aloofness toward reality do not make Gatsby great.

Thus it can be seen that Jay Gatsby, or rather James Gatz's journey is riddled with incompetence's and deception and, therefore, he does not deserve the title of, ''The Great Gatsby''.

We are God, God is Us

Divinity. Are human beings divine? The Church would argue not, but despite the evil that lies in the heart of man- by definition, divinity means to be god-like and/or to create. "And the Lord God made man (his greatest creation) in his own image".  It is our minds that make omnipotent and our souls that make us holy- thus we are divine. We are able to create: we can create beautiful sculptures and art; we can create our own realities through perception; and create life. Is that not the very essence of divinity? The act of creation is art and this art is divine. Although tattered by immorality, mankind at heart, hidden is still absolute divinity: "for the only difference between God and man, is that man has forgotten he is divine". Humans are introverted- almost ellusive to the very simplicity we fail to grasp. We look to things external of ourselves, expeditiously searching for forgotten answers to old questions- we search for power greater than ourselves- we search for a God; but we, our voice, is the one we seek- we are Gods. What is a god if not a creator? We humans are much like children, we have no faith in ourselves, so instead we place it externally. We use God as a safe haven for our insecurities- placing all our problems before him on bended knee- yet we ourselves have the power to mould our own outcomes. If we are made in his image how can we be powerless, bound to pews.  If we are the children of God, are we not then, at the very least, half-god and wholly divine. If we deny our own divinity, do we not then deny the divinity of our Father? 

Quote 5

"It is our minds that make us omnipotent and our souls that make us holy: we have the ability to destroy and create- thus we are divine" - by Rushin Jansen